Harness-hanger.



R. R. STAFFORD.

HARNESS HANGER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 27. 1913.

Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

1H5 NORRIS PETERS 50.. PHOTO-LITHQ, WASHINGTON. D. C.

- iii ROLAND B. STAFFORD, OF MINIER, ILLINOIS.

HARNESS-HANGER.

Application filed January 27, 1913.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ROLAND R. STAFFORD, citizen of the United States, residing at Minier, in the county of Tazewell and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Harness-Hangers; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to harness hangers.

The device includes in its construction a member to be supported from a wall from which the harness is to be suspended.

More particularly the device consists of a member supported from a wall and including a hook for receiving a harness, and having an additional portion for receiving the harness and consisting of a chain and bar attached at one end to the member and adapted at its other end to be suspended from the hook.

The object of the invention is to provide a harness hanger that can be readily adapted for occupying a fixed or stationary position or thatmay be adjusted to any one or several positions.

Another object is to construct a harness hanger having a part to be supported on a wall, the supporting part for the harness adapted to be adjusted to any desired position.

Another object is to provide a socket portion to be attached to a wall or other support, and a hanger associated therewith, the hanger and the socket-portion having provisions for interlocking whereby the said hanger can be secured permanently in a desired position, or by inversion of the socketportion, said hanger will be free to swing as will appear from the following specification aided by the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the invention. Fig. 2 shows a socket portion in perspective. Fig. 3 shows a part of the socket portion in vertical section and a part of the harness hanger therein, and Fig. 4: shows a part of the socket portion inverted from the position shown in Fig. 2 and a part of the harness hanger in engagement therewith.

A is preferably a casting adapted to be secured to a wall or other support in any suitable manner, for example by means of screws B, said casting including an out- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 20, 1915..

Serial No. 744,271.

wardly curved portion, or barrel portion C, forming a receptacle for the shank D of a casting E. Said casting includes an annular flange D adapted to rest upon the barrel portion and includes also hooks F and G. For the purpose of lightening the structure the shank D is fluted and leaves the wing portions H but this is immaterial, being really but a preferred structure. Said shank D is adapted to fit snugly within the said barrel portion C but is adapted also to swing freely therein. One end of the barrel portion, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and l is provided with a rib J extending outward from the surface of the main body portion and is provided with a series of notches K one of them lying in a plane perpendicular to the rear surface of the casting that lies against the wall, the others being spaced therefrom as clearly shown in the drawings whereby the hooks F and G may be made to lie in a vertical plane substantially at an angle of to the wall surface.

It is observed that the base of the hook F has a depending lug L which, as shown in Fig. 3, lies close to the outer surface of the barrel portion G and may thus be dropped into any one of the notches K of the rib J.

The length of the shank D may be substantially equal to the distance between the flange D and the top surface of the hook G so that when the parts are assembled and secured upon the wall with the lug L seated in one of the notches K, the casting E will be prevented from having vertical movement.

It will be understood that the hooks F and G which, in this instance, lie in the same vertical plane can thus be fixed perpendicularly to the wall,,or at an angle of 45, for example, to said wall at either side of the position first named. Again, as shown in Fig. l the barrel portion C may be shortened and a spring D can inclose the shank of the casting E and bear against said barrel portion and the arm G. Thus the lug L will be positively held in any one of the notches in which it may be placed. However, if desired to have the hooks swing freely it is only necessary to invert the casting A and use it in the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3. In this position, as shown in the latter figure, it is observed that the lug L swings concentrically to the axis of the shank D adjacent the barrel portion and will be free to swing.

M is a chain attached at one end to the base of the hook G by means of a pin N, for example, the other end of the chain being held in an eye 0 of a hanger-bar P from Which the harness is hung. The opposite end of the said bar has an eye 0 to which one end of a chain R is attached and the other end of the chain has a ring S adapted to be placed over the hook G.

In my pending application for harness hanger, No. 700,400, filed May 29, 1912, I show a hook from which is suspended a hanger-bar but in that application the part from which the said hanger-bar is attached cannot be adjusted to various positions and held in any one of those positions.

Other devices, several of which I am aware, either include a socket portion and V-shaped notches or their equivalent to receive a lug for locating a supporting arm or hook, aided by a spring. Still another, however, includes a notch having straight walls to receive a lug that corresponds with and fits into it. In the first forms mentioned the arm carrying the lug is not positively held in a desired position since the slightest pressure in spite of the spring destroys a desired relation of the parts. In other words the notches and the lug merely hold the arm in position through frictional engagement. In the second form mentioned there is no spring to aid in holding the lug in the notch provided for it. In fact there is a spring for elastically supporting the outer end of the supporting arm, and this spring rather has a tendency to lift the lug out of the notch. At any rate there is no means of positively holding the lug in the notch, As distinguished from this the device. of' applicant includes the notch or notches K having straight or vertical walls to. receive a correspondingly shaped lug, and the spring D acts to positively hold the lugin any one of the notches. That is to say, a side blow will not act to change the position of the hooks F G nor would a blow that would tend to. lift the lug L from the notch be sufficient to disturb the position of the hooks.

It very often happens that a harness hook in order to be handy to the user is required to be hung in peculiar positions and in peculiar places and very often for that reason the hooks must be held in a certain position most convenient for use and at the same time; out of the way. Again, Where the hanger is placed in passages through which horsesmust passit is required that the hook hang freely, or rather that it can be free to swing in the direction in which the horses move so that the animals will not be injured when striking it by accident. It is,therefore, my purpose in constructing my harness. hanger to, adapt it to swing or to be secured in a desired position as explained,

and to thus make the device so that it can be used in these several ways the casting A is constructed so that its inversion admits of one or the other of the described adaptations.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. A harness hanger including in its construction an invertible socket member adapted for attachment to a support and including a recess or socket to receive the shank of a bracket and having a cylindrically curved outer surface concentric with the center of its recess, an article carrying bracket provided with a hook and having a shank adapted to occupy and turn within said recess in either inverted position of the member, said bracket including a shouldered portion to rest upon the end of the member and also including a depending portion spaced from its shank and overhanging and substantially paralleling the described cylindrically curved surface and adapted to swing in close proximity to said surface, the socket member having a lip at one end extending outward beyond its cylindrically curved surface and beyond the position of the described depending portion of the bracket, and having a notch to receive said depending portion when the member is in position to support the bracket at that end.

2. A harness hanger including in its construction an invertible socket member adapted for attachment to a support and having a recess to receive a bracket and having a cylindrically curved outer surface at each end concentric with the center of the recess, one end having an outwardly extended lip beyond said surface and concentric therewith, said lip being provided with a series of notches, and a bracket for supporting articles having a shouldered portion adapted to rest upon either end of the member and having a shank to lie in the recess, and also having a depending portion lying outward from and spaced from its shank and adapted to swing free of the cylindrically curved surface when the member having such surface 115 is in one of its positions, said depending portion adapted in the other position of the member to engage in one of the said notches to prevent the bracket swinging, said bracket adapted in one of its adjustments 120 relative to the member to swing freely on thesame.

3. A. harness hanger including in its construction an invertible socket member adapted for attachment to a support and 125 having a recess to receive a bracket and having a cylindrically curved outer surface at each end concentric with the center of the recess, one end having an outwardly extended lip beyond said surface and concen- 180 the said notches to prevent the bracket swinging, said bracket adapted in one of its adjustments relative to the member to swing 15 freely on the same, and elastic means to hold the bracket in engagement with the said notch.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

ROLAND R. STAFFORD. Witnesses:

L. E. SUTHERLAND, EUNIOE M. BEOKUM.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

